


In Another Life

by Caitlincheri28



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Gryffindor, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Second Chances, Slytherin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:21:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29488197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitlincheri28/pseuds/Caitlincheri28
Summary: Pansy Parkinson came back for her eighth year at Hogwarts full of regret and shame.She wished more than anything that she could be the hero in her own story.What if by a chance of fate, she had the opportunity to live a life she wouldn't regret?
Relationships: Ginny Weasley/Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson/Harry Potter
Comments: 31
Kudos: 65
Collections: Evil Author Musings





	In Another Life

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to post this because I have zero update schedule planned, but evil authors day pulled me in like a magnet. 
> 
> I started this MONTHS ago and am totally open to constructive feedback! 
> 
> Many thanks to Shamione, WhatSoMalfoy, and MissyJAnne85 for being the most wonderful alphabet I could ask for <3

The Great Hall had been transformed.

The traditional student tables were gone. Small, circular replacements sat in various places around the room. The banners showcasing each house were removed, and in their place were hundreds of floating paper lanterns casting a soft illumination over the dance floor. Spider webs clung to the walls and tables, charmed toy spiders skittering across them whenever a witch or wizard came near. An alluring foggy haze curled around the floor, accompanied by distant, eerie howls and wails.

Students of all ages packed the Great Hall, swaying to music or chatting with friends. A table full of delicious treats stood near the entryway like a beacon for introverts to huddle about. An array of costumes decorated the scene - everything from elegant princess gowns that shimmered as they spun to barely-there skirts that left nothing to the imagination.

The Halloween ball at Hogwarts was nothing short of exquisite, and every student and professor seemed to be enjoying the night of fun and relaxation. 

Everyone except Pansy Parkinson. 

Off in a dark corner, alone at a table with nothing but the skittering spiders to keep her company, Pansy scowled. She wore a simple dress - fitted navy blue with flowing long sleeves. A modest cut slit down the front showing just a hint of cleavage, highlighting the pretty pendant she wore on her neck. The dress stopped right above the knee, and shiny silver pumps dressed her feet. On her back sat a pair of glittering fairy wings charmed to flutter back and forth on their own accord. Her hair was sleek and shiny, one side pinned up with a silver clip.    
  
Yes, Pansy was beautiful - and she knew it. She was born to be molded and formed into  _ beautiful _ . She spent her childhood learning that she was only good for two things: marriage and motherhood. To achieve the type of marriage her father demanded, she would need to be beautiful, polite, and well versed in the art of pure-blood wifely duties. Pansy may not be the top of her class academically, but she could sing like a canary, dance like a ballerina, and effortlessly charm her way through any stuffy dinner party. 

And none of that mattered anymore.

As she scanned the Hall again, she lifted her flask to her lips and took a swig of Firewhisky. Over by the towering table of treats stood Draco, talking to a pretty witch dressed as Cleopatra. Pansy didn’t recognize her, though something seemed vaguely familiar. Draco seemed deeply enthralled in the conversation, and the witch appeared overly enthusiastic, waving her hands around and bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

Wait. _.. Granger?_   
  
Draco Malfoy was entertaining a conversation with bushy-haired swot Hermione Granger? And he _was enjoying it?_  
  
Pansy snorted and took another drink. 

Most of the seventh-year students had returned to Hogwarts to repeat the year. Many hadn’t set foot inside the castle last year, and those who had weren’t exactly given a proper education. Pansy could still hear the screams of innocent first-years as the Carrows had forced her to cast Unforgivables on them. Coming back to Hogwarts was a constant reminder of trauma, terror, and death. Regardless, a war wouldn’t change the fact that witches and wizards needed to take their NEWTS if they wanted a chance at a proper career. 

Something Pansy had given very little thought to. 

Until six months ago, her life had been planned out. She would marry Draco Malfoy and raise beautiful blonde babies in his giant manor. That had been the plan since she and Draco were in nappies. But with both of their fathers serving life sentences in Azkaban, she and Draco realized that they were now free to make their own choices. She truly respected Draco and she had always done her absolute best to be worthy of a place in his world, even if it wasn’t what her soul had craved. 

No. Pansy’s soul ached for someone else. Buried in the darkest corner of her heart, she had hidden a secret that she refused to admit to anyone, not even herself most days. She was in love with a boy who loved saving the world. A boy who was brave, powerful, and kind; who would go to the depths of a hidden chamber and battle a basilisk for a friend. A boy who was the only person who looked at her with understanding as she begged someone to turn him over to Voldemort, though the memory terrorised her with guilt and horror. 

Pansy had truly noticed it during their fourth year, but if she was honest with herself, it had begun the first day of Hogwarts. 

_ Pansy stood at the entrance of The Great Hall only half-listening to McGonagall drone on about the four houses — after all, she knew she would be sorted into Slytherin like every other worthwhile pure-blood.  _

_ No, something else was capturing her thoughts.  _

_ Everyone was talking about “The Boy Who Lived” and his lightning-shaped scar. She hadn’t seen him yet, but from the whisperings on the train, Pansy imagined he must be Merlin reincarnated.  _

_ She followed the line of other first-years into The Great Hall, and after a few minutes, she was confidently taking her rightful spot at the Slytherin table.  _

_ “Harry Potter!” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ The Great Hall fell silent, and hundreds of eyes followed a raven-haired boy as he walked to take his spot on the stool. As the hat sat perched on his head, Pansy wondered what could be taking so long. From what she could see, his face was scrunched up — as if deep in thought. She couldn’t explain why part of her hoped he’d take a seat next to her. It seemed every person was waiting with bated breath... _

_ “GRYFFINDOR!” _

_ Happy shouts and claps erupted from the Gryffindor table as a majority of the Slytherins sneered. Chaos exploded around her, but Pansy didn’t notice any of it, for she had just seen what Harry Potter looked like when he smiled. _

_ And Pansy found she liked it very much.  _

  
  


As if on cue, the doors to the Great Hall swung open, and Harry walked in with a very suspiciously flushed and giggling Ginevra Weasley on his arm. Pansy watched with envy as Harry kissed the top of Ginny’s head and pulled her closer into his side. 

Ginny looked positively radiant, and the look on Harry's face made it all too evident he was completely enraptured with her. 

Deciding she had endured enough this evening, Pansy slipped out of the Great Hall, though she could not be certain where she was going. Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own as she walked through the courtyard and down past Hagrid’s hut until she was staring down at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest.

Every emotion she had been holding in for the last six months started to boil over. She was a failure; a girl who had been forced into the wrong side of a war. But had she truly been forced? She could have said no and given up life as she knew it. She could have been brave rather than a coward. That’s all she was anymore — the cowardly bitch who wanted to give Harry Potter to the Dark Lord. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 

Pansy never cried. She always wore her confident and stoic Slytherin Princess mask, but she could feel the hot tears welling. She blinked, and the dam broke. The chilly autumn air caressed her damp cheeks as she crumbled to the forest floor. This wasn’t the life she wanted. This wasn’t who she wanted to be. Why couldn’t she have been the heroine of the story? The girl who stood at the side of the hero, reveling in their light?

Because she knew she was a worthless coward. And as Pansy curled into herself on the damp forest floor, she wanted nothing more than a second chance. 

*************************************************************

It was always the same dream - Forced to relive her worst day, worst moment, every single night.

_ Cool and eerie air whipped around the Great Hall. Students gathered, unsure of what awaited them outside the doors. McGonagall spoke frantically, attempting to keep a semblance of order and get the students to safety.  _

_ Ernie Macmillan stood and proclaimed he wanted to stay and fight, while a snotty Ravenclaw worried over her possessions.  _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Pansy was more worried about her life. Didn’t any of them understand? Headmaster Snape had abandoned the ship, and Pansy could feel dark magic seeping in through the walls of Hogwarts.  _

_ The Dark Lord was undoubtedly here, and as his voice boomed and echoed across the room, all Pansy felt was terror and dread. She could see the innocent faces of the children she had been forced to torture. She could see herself raped and tortured if she didn’t comply. She could see those innocent children murdered. It was selfish, but Pansy knew how much was a stake.  _

_ She tried to stop herself, but her instincts took over. She couldn’t stop her body from standing and screaming for them to grab Harry.  _

_ “But he’s there! Potter’s there! Someone grab him!”  _

_ Brilliant green eyes met her dark hazel and for a moment the world stopped. They were frozen on a precipice, unable to move. Then like a conductor leading the chorus back, Ginevra moved in front of Potter, and the uproar began. Her heart dropped to the floor, and the weight of her plea crushed her like a bug. _

**_Coward._ **

_ And like a coward, she was sent back to the Slytherin dorms; shame and disgust creating an aura that would forever stain her.  _

  
  


Pansy pulled herself out of the nightmare but wasn’t ready to open her eyes. She was so tired. Perhaps she could  _ will  _ her brain into drifting back to sleep — hopefully sans nightmares, for a few minutes more. 

She snuggled deeper into the warmth that surrounded her as a stream of light danced over her eyelids. 

_ Light? _ That’s not right. The Slytherin dorms were underwater — sunlight never accosted her this early in the morning. 

She quirked an eye open. 

Something was definitely wrong. Her bedding had been transformed from emerald green to vibrant, putrid shade of red. The drapes were closed about the bed, but a stained glass window sat at the head, causing different colors of light to dance around her. She looked down, and she was wearing a Gryffindor Quidditch jersey, and a fluffy orange... _ cat? _ slept soundly at her feet. 

She tried to rationalise what was happening. Was she still dreaming? Was this a joke? Slowly curling her fingers around the drapes and peeking her head out, she saw that she was most definitely  _ not _ in the Slytherin dorm room. The circular room had four other four-poster beds identical to hers, and the room was cluttered with tacky Gryffindor decor. 

_ What the fuck?  _

The last thing Pansy remembered was crying herself to sleep at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. So how in Merlin’s name did she end up in the Gryffindor dorms? She quietly opened the drapes and slipped out of bed. She needed to escape from this bloody place before anyone saw her. She was a snake caught cosied up in the lion’s den, and she needed to figure out how she’d ended up there. As she started to tiptoe out of the room, she glanced back at the bed that she'd vacated and gasped in horror. 

_ Pansy Parkinson _ was expertly engraved into the cherry wood of the footboard. 


End file.
